Rhinobatos rhinobatos (Linnaeus 1758) —Common guitarfish

Taxonomy. First record from Lebanon as Rhinobatos rhinobatus (Linnaeus 1758) by George et al. (1964: 10); subsequently recorded as Rhinobatos rhinobatos (Linnaeus) by Mouneimné (1977: 60); as Rhinobatos rhinobatos (Linnaeus 1758) by Mouneimné (2002: 56); recently recorded as Rhinobatos rhinobatos by Lteif (2015: 61). Recent unpublished records from Beirut, Tripoli, Batroun, Saida, Sarafand and Tyre (1998–2019). Material in collection: AUBM and USNM.

Distribution. Mediterranean Sea, eastern Atlantic: Bay of Biscay south to Angola.

Conservation. IUCN: Global (EN: A4 cd, 1 March 2007); Med. (EN: A2 b, 25 March 2016). Capture and threats: FIT, FIB, unknown. Occurrence: Common. Significant decline in the last two decades. High priority for conservation action. The capture, transportation, storage or commercialization of this species is forbidden in Lebanon .